How to gain attention in a class or presentation| 10 Tips

Presentations and lectures are a regular process for academicians and researchers.

Now a days it is quite easy to give a presentation by use of power point, interactive boards etc.

But to gain the attention of the audience is the toughest part.

In most cases audience are interested in first few minutes of lecture. But, as the time goes, they lose interest and attention there after.

So one need to know how to gain attention during presentation for long.

For this the first and foremost requirement is the confidence of the presenter.

If you are confident you will attain attention from audience. But to be confident you needs to be well prepared before hand.

If you are not prepared well, you gets confused and even may seem tensed during the lecture.

So it is better to prepare well for a lecture.

So if you are teacher or business man making a presentation or lecture here tips to gain attention.

How to gain attention in a class or lecture:

Factor to consider from your side

1) Be natural, cool and composed. When a lecture or presenter enters the hall of class or presentation, the audience take notice of him. The more the confidence in himself and his behavior the better is the attention of the audience towards him. So one needs to be cool, composed and also smiling in case.

2) Keeping moving on the stage: You need to move close to the audience than standing on the stage alone. This helps them keep their attention on you. Further you communicate with your body language by use of hands and expressions of face. This further catches the attention.

3) Dress properly and groom well: This is an important factor related to appearance. Dressing well and being groomed creates a better impression about you and you lecture. So always get well dressed for presentation.

4) See into the faces and keep eye contact: Seeing into audience lets them see you instead of elsewhere. So always face your audience without any problems. Try to focus more on those with attention to you than those who are not attentive to you. Because if you try to focus on those trying to get their attention you will lose control on your lecture. Also do not focus on one individual or one side of the audience. See in all the directions.

5) Be clear in speaking: Generally a loud and clear voice gains more attention. So let the words be clear loud and audible. The more is the voice, the more is the expression of confidence. Remember even a lie when told aloud can be true. 🙂

Factor to consider from your presentation

1) Use chalkboards/power point: Using boards or slides on over head projector gives a chance to grab the visual attention of the audience. Further good and attractive diagrams and picture make the listener feel pleasant to focus more on the lecture you deliver.

Try to use a pointer on the slides or boards for depicting which part of diagram or line you are talking about.

2) Pose questions to the audience: During the lecture it is a trend that listener questions any doubts and presenter answers them. But the trick to follow is to prepare your own set of which can arrive in their mind during lecture and answer them yourself. There may be some questions which may not even arise to them. These questions raise further curiosity in the listener and since you answer them his attention is set at your lecture spontaneously.

3) Use examples: While giving a presentation if you wish to make the audience understand, use examples from natural objects. This use of examples helps the audience make an image in the minds and try to understand. Further they get more interest in what you say.

Also do not deviate the topic by siting examples off topic. This is because you are allowing them to divert their minds and will be tough for them to focus your lecture without other thoughts.

4) Use diagrams: When you give a presentation, use hypothesis, diagrams, tables and pathways to convey your message clearly. This not only helps them understand better but also makes a picture in their memories. This can make them analyze the presentation from the diagram in short.

5) Use animation slides: One of the advantages of power point is animation slides. The presentation of diagrams, hypothesis will be like a movie and not mere stagnant film. This makes the presentation look attractive and appealing. It gains a lot of attention without use of words.

6) Do not read the presentation: Some of the presenters just read the slides or from a book. This is not the way. You must show some lines and explain remaining from your side. This makes the audience look at the presentation and also listen to you for more. This also makes them analyze of what you say and what you show on the board.